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A slight knock on his door jerked Logan from his thoughts, he glanced up to see Patton standing in his doorway.
“Can you help me?”
“Of course Patton, what can I do for you?”
Patton held up a jar with a beautiful butterfly inside. “He escaped from Thomas’ memories, I was wondering what kind it was.”
“Let me see?”
Patton scampered into the room, carefully handing him the jar before plopping himself on Logan’s desk. He resisted the urge to roll his as Patton began to swing his legs. Logan held the jar up to eye level, noting the white stripes that ran down the black wings.
“It would help to know where it came from, do you know which memory this came from?” He asked as he got up and crossed to his bookshelf.
“Family picnic in the park, Thomas was seven? I think. He saw it land on a fence post. He’s always wondered what it was.”
Logan nodded as he pulled out a book on Florida’s flora and fauna.
“Okay,” he said, clearing his throat as he sat down again and opened the book on the desk and ignoring the way the swinging of Patton’s leg would occasionally brush against his own thigh.
It wasn’t Patton’s fault he had no sense of personal space. A thought confirmed as Patton leaned over to peer down at the book with him.
“Well Patton, it looks to me like its a Heliconius Charithonia.”
“Oh cool,” Patton said with a hesitant smile, “a hell….heli...hel”
Logan tried not to smile. He really really did. It was inevitable though, that such an adorable effort would wrest from him a grin as he finally took mercy.
“Also known as a Zebra Butterfly.” He chuckled as a grin split Patton’s face.
“A Zebra Butterfly! What a perfect name for him!” Patton said with his face nearly pressed to the glass. “I guess I should get him back where he belongs huh?”
“That does seem like the best course of action” Logan confirmed, still feeling overly conscious of the leg brushing against his.
“Can you help me?” Logan took a breath to assure Patton it was a task he was more than capable of accomplishing on his own, but something in the expression on the others face stopped him.
“Of course Patton,”
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“Logan!” The shout had come from downstairs and he was intrigued by the cry for help that trailed off in giggles. He came downstairs curious, and unable to stop a chuckle when he caught sight of Patton. As best as he could tell Patton was attempting to repair the torn ear of his cat onesie, but he was helplessly tangled in threads and the ear was partially sewn to the sleeve of his cardigan.
“Can you help me?” Patton giggled somewhat sheepishly.
“I don’t know if I can,” Logan laughed, “this is quite frankly, a mess,”
“I know!” Patton moaned in fake distress, giggling as he struggled against the threads.
“Hold still,” Logan chuckled as he pulled a small pair of scissors out of the sewing kit. Carefully he snipped and pulled until Patton was free.
Patton stretched dramatically, as though he had been trapped in chains. Logan ruffled his hair fondly before sitting on the couch beside him and pulling that cat onesie into his lap.
He began to sew quietly, quickly making a neat row of stitches and in no time at all the job was done.
“Thanks Lo,” Patton said, in a tone that was far more gentle than Logan might have expected. He was further surprised when Patton linked their arms together and brought his head to rest on Logan’s shoulder.
Logan distracted himself from the odd heat threatening to creep over his cheeks, picking up the needle again to repair another tear. The onesie was well loved and well worn.
Patton began to hum from his position against Logan’s shoulder, something soft and old. They sat like that for a long while, and had Logan been any less in the moment, he might have realized that what he was feeling was contentment.
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Logan was nearly asleep when his phone buzzed.
Patton: With V. Can you help me?
He sighed but rolled out of bed and shuffled down the hallway. Inside Virgil’s room he could see Patton sitting against the wall, Virgil bundled in his arms apparently asleep.
“I can’t get him into the bed,” Patton said quietly, his voice was exhausted and rough with emotion. Now that Logan was closer he could see the tear streaks down Patton’s face.
He tutted sympathetically, carefully shifting Virgil off his lap, and between the two of them they got him to bed.
“Thank you,” Patton said quietly as he shut the door behind him.
“Are you okay?” He asked, noting the highly emotional state the other was in.
“Yeah, it’s just hard to see him go through that,”
“Hmm, I imagine your nature makes you very empathetic,”
“Something like that,” Patton sighed and ran his hand through his hair tiredly.
“Do you want me to, you know?” He jerked his thumb back towards Virgil’s door, unsure how to say what he meant.
Patton just stared at him in bleary confusion.
“Would you like to come lay down with me, I can hold you like you did with Virgil?”
“Logan are you offering to cuddle me?” He teased gently.
“Yes I am,”
Patton’s face turned serious, “that would actually be really nice”
It took a few minutes for them to get situated, and for the awkwardness to melt in to comfort. Patton pressed a kiss to his cheek, mumbling a thank you as he fell asleep.
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Raucous laughter caught Logan’s attention, and he poked his head out just in time to see Roman and Patton stumble out of Roman’s room, obviously just returning from an adventure.
“Patton!” He said in concern, catching sight of his split and bloodied lip.
Roman and Patton shared a look Logan couldn’t understand, Roman clapped his shoulder before leaving them alone in the hall.
Logan’s thumb came up to gently brush against the bruised lip.
“Can you help me?” Patton asked, and Logan was taken aback by the absolute smirk in his voice and on his face.
“Sure?” Logan said, slightly confused, “let me grab the first aid kit.”
He turned to move down the hall but Patton caught his wrist. He turned back
to see Patton smiling at him with a bit of an expression he couldn’t identify.
“I don’t think I need that kind of help, I think someone needs to kiss it better.”
Logan was stunned, absolutely frozen as he watched a small smile spread across Patton’s face. The hand around his wrist slipped down to wind their fingers together.
“Can you help me?”
Logan flushed, he stuttered, he took a deep breath, and then he kissed Patton. A so soft brushing of lips, then a second one, and a third. Patton grinned and chuckled against his lips, “finally,”
Logan pulled away to look at him, “I can’t figure you out,” he said quietly, wonderingly.
“I can help you,” Patton winked.